It seems like every time I turn on Instagram there is a brand new palette, product, or fantastic item that’s being released or teased or whatever. It’s gotten to the point where the only posts that seem to do well at all are ones featuring the newest product… and my coffers aren’t filled to the brim so getting the latest and greatest as soon as it’s released just isn’t feasible. Things would be easier if I were on everyone’s PR list but alas, I’m just a tiny blogger fish in a vast bloggy ocean – and that’s perfectly okay. I am thankful for the brands that have given me the ability and opportunities to work with and they will always have a special place in my heart.
As a makeup fiend, I would instead try out a palette for a month or more before putting my thoughts out there instead of jumping the gun and prematurely post a review to hop on the trending bandwagon. Eyeshadow palettes especially because depending on how many eyeshadow colors they have lots of possibilities. Also, wear-time and performance take time. You can make things look fantastic for the first hour, but the true test is at the end of the day.
As a consumer, I tend to watch or read tons of reviews before purchasing any makeup item to make doubly sure that I will like it and that it will work with my skin type, concerns, etc. I can’t justify buying things on a whim just because they’re brand new every week. I have been burned in the past by buying into the hype, getting the new shiny, and then it failing horribly. Would you guys be interested in a post where I talk about the stuff that didn’t work out for me?
Fun side note, my lighting made my skin look a little warmer, and more lemming-ish, than real life – hence the lemming in the name. Also, my wig is slightly green, so I just went with it. Tee hee hee. Makeup details for this sun-kissed, lemming look are over on my Instagram feed if you’re curious.
– – – – Subculture Palette Mini Review – – – –
So with that, let’s talk about a palette that’s been out for a year and while a little finicky… is a forever favorite: The Subculture Palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills. There are two kinds of people when it comes to this palette – people who love it and people who hate it with a passion of a million fiery suns. I am the former.
The color selection of this palette sings to my grungey tone loving heart. First off, anything with a grungy, olive-green will automatically catch my attention… and add mustard shades, a green reflective shade, etc… oh yes. Sold. This palette was a no-brainer and was out for a good month before I picked it up last year. It resides in my top palette drawer because it’s one I go back to time and time again.
When this palette was released, Norvina (Claudia, Anastasia’s daughter) revealed that the Subculture palette featured a new type of eyeshadows from Anastasia Beverly Hills. They are softer and more pigmented than previous palettes, including the Modern Renaissance palette – and were extremely pigmented. I think they have since then gone back and reformulated the eyeshadows in their newer palettes, but I am not completely positive.
In the palette, there are fourteen eyeshadows, two transformer shades, one metallic, and eleven matte shadows. The darkest colors, Axis and Rowdy, are the driest eyeshadows out of the entire palette, so they do apply kinda patchy, so I recommend using a sticky base and packing on the color before blending it out. Cube and Electric, the two transforming shades, aren’t made to be extremely pigmented and work best overtop of other shades, however, I LOVE to wear Electric all over my lids on little-to-no-makeup-days.
When blending multiple shades together, I suggest building the color up a little bit at a time and take your time otherwise the colors can muddy up pretty quickly if haphazardly blended. It should be noted that this palette isn’t the best for folks just starting out with makeup and they do take some time to work with and build a cohesive look. These shadows are soft, so fallout is something to plan for. Once you figure out how to make the shadows work for you-you’re golden. It just takes a little bit of a learning curve.
When we moved to Philly back in September, I wasn’t able to bring my entire makeup collection with me, so I packed up two little caboodle train cases and that held me over for the two months until we were able to move into our house and have the rest of our stuff delivered. Subculture was one of three palettes that I brought with me to tie me over. The colors in this palette are great for one color, all over the lid, blown out looks.
There was so much negative backlash surrounding this palette that for a while I would use it during the days where I wasn’t planning on taking pictures of my makeup, and I wasn’t able to take pretty product photography shots of this babe before dipping in —- because we had a packed up house, and I was busy painting and packing to care. Ha. I have used this palette for dozens of looks, and I haven’t hit pan on any of the shades. I’m going to apologize for the lack of pictures of looks, most of them were monochromatic, one color looks or similar looks with various color combos. I’m trying to get better about remembering to take pictures of all of my makeup looks, but again, I forget sometimes. Heh.
Side note, do you guys remember the videos of people digging into their pans just to “hit pan” and then complain that they hit pan. I don’t understand why they would do that- of course, soft shadows and pigments produce lots of fallout… That’s what happens when you want views, I guess. Drama sells – and I digress.
Subculture retails for $42 USD but was recently on Sephora’s Weekly Wows for 50% off, and I think that it may be on the verge of getting discontinued – which will make me very sad and I will have to grab a few backups. I can’t find it on Ulta’s website anymore so if you want to pick it up – you should probably do so sooner rather than later.
One of the things that drew me to the palette was its unique color story within a reasonable price point. Subculture also wasn’t just another warm-toned, neutral palette. I want to see more palettes that have unique color palettes and undertones that aren’t just “basic” ones full of neutral or warm shades. Speaking of ABH, I’m excited for the new Norvina palette. I want to wait and see what folks are saying about it before taking the plunge, but it has my eye for sure.
Are you a fan of ABH’s Subculture Palette or was it a pass for you? Let me know in the comments.
And now for some audience participation: I would like to know what you guys would like to see, read, experience here on the blog and across social media – including YouTube and IG Livestreams. What days do you feel you would benefit from my posting new content? Instagram and YouTube have genuinely been sucking from an engagement viewpoint, and I want to try and incorporate what you guys would like to see more.
I realize that with there being a lot of new products coming out, I may not be the best resource for “the new hotness” but I want to revisit some palettes that are still available or ones that you guys have and haven’t touched in a while for reviews and look creations. Does that sound good to you? What palettes have you purchased and only used once or twice before they ended up in a drawer covered up by newer items? Let us all do better and pull out those older palettes and rediscover them!
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